Hello lovely!!!!
I have a headcanon prompt for you!! *clears throat*
Elain and Azriel secretly meeting at the townhouse, what would happen? 🥰
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Hi there nonnie!
I hope you’re doing well. I do love a good HC prompt, so let’s set the scene😏
Location: Townhouse
Time: A couple months after the solstice incident
Characters involved: Azriel, Elain, and a special guest👀
Situation: An awkward secret encounter at the townhouse
Elriel secret meeting in the townhouse- LET’S GO!
- Azriel had been away from Velaris for weeks at a time and Rhys had tasked him to complete more tasks than ever. More traveling, more investigating and more staying away from a particular person.
- Azriel was both grateful and resentful towards his brother at present. Grateful for the fact he could avoid Nesta and Cassian’s as well as the  uncomfortable interactions with a particular Acheron sister. He was resentful towards Rhys because of his order to stay away as well as his assumption that he had some sort of I’ll will towards Elain. That what he felt for her was merely jealousy or something fleeting. He resented Rhys for the fact that he couldn’t face her and apologise to her. He felt awful that he and Rhys were lying to Elain in some capacity, Feyre to an extent too. Elain was a pawn in a court of politics and it angered Azriel that he can’t say anything without causing political upset or the wrath of his High Lord.
- So, Az stayed away and followed an order he’d much rather disobey. He still asked about her. Nuala and Cerridwen would sometimes mention Elain’s health or activities and Az would relish in the updates. It’s as close as he can get for now but he felt that the twins were hiding something from him for the sake of their friend.
- Something was happening with Elain and Azriel could do nothing about it without raising suspicions. He told the twins to keep training Elain and showing her how to defend herself. Az knew that Elain did want to learn the basics of certain things but felt that if her sisters knew they’d judge her for some reason. Her people pleasing and non confrontational ways from her human hood were slowly fading away but old habits die hard too.
- Azriel had just come back from snooping in the human lands. He did visit the Band of Exiles of course for updates from Vassa and Jurian as Lucien was away in other courts. Apparently, he stopped in Night for a visit. Of course, Rhys would send him on a mission to get him out of the way for the fox. It pained Azriel that his own brother thought so low of him and so highly of a bond that one party (and maybe both) did not want.
- A summer ago, Az and Elain had sat in the river house garden. He’d been helping her harvest some vegetables from her new patch as well as help her with some cutting of flowers for some bouquets she was commissioned for an event.
-Elain had made quite the name for herself in Velaris. The people loved her here and she reciprocated. She helped various fae in their communities with their own personal gardens and events. She would take time to listen to local stories and history of the fae and tell them to Az. She even said she had collected some storybooks and lullabies for Feyre and Nyx. She attended classes and few events. She celebrated the smaller holidays with friends and patrons. She played with the local children in the streets and spoke fondly of the shopkeepers in the Rainbow district. She knew Velaris as a citizen and not just as a High Lady’s sister. The people adored her because she was helpful, attentive and willing to learn and love this community and they welcomed her with open arms.
-Elain wanted more than being a wife, not that being a wife was a bad thing but she finally had the option of being more than one without bringing dishonour on her family. As she was toiling in her garden with the shadow singer at her side, Elain expressed her frustration with the court. Azriel could tell that she had grown weary of her sister and Rhys’s antics. Sometimes, they would bring Lucien around unannounced to surprise her and make for some mate on mate interaction. She hated it. She hated that even her sister expected her to cave and give into this so called bond that she thought Elain would love. She hated the fact that she was viewed as a kind of disappointment. Why doesn’t she just give into it? Give him a chance? She would hear them whisper into the night. She could not give in so easily. Her heart was her own to keep and to hold and it couldn’t be parted with because of another entity outside of Elain. Feyre had learned to back off a bit but Elain feared that there was something that they weren’t telling her. Maybe an arranged marriage. It wasn’t uncommon in the human lands when they didn’t have much choice but here in their court she thought she could do as she pleases as long as it didn’t hurt anyone else. And for some time she rambled as Az listened quietly to his friend expressing herself. Elain didn’t seem to be the type to voice her frustrations often so he kept the memory close to his heart. This must mean something he told himself yet he was just a fool.
- Azriel landed in the townhouse garden. He’d report to Rhys at a later stage. He didn’t want to see his brother or witness Elain and Lucien in the same vicinity. Maybe Elain and Lucien got on these days and maybe this bond was something she thought worthy of her heart. He was a fool to believe that he would’ve given it to him. Maybe she once did but after Solstice she locked it back in her chest. He needed to avoid her because of Rhys’s orders but also to protect himself from the torment of his own mistakes. But the townhouse reminded him of the peace and tranquillity that she gave him.
- Azriel opened the mud room to take off some of his armour and his boots to change into something a bit more comfortable than the stuff he’d taken on his mission. He placed his knifes and equipment on the table. But at the corner of his eye, he saw some wellingtons. Much smaller than his own clunky feet and they were the colour of daffodils. And against the wall, was a cobalt blue two wheeled device with a large basket at the front. He’d seen it before in Dawn but couldn’t remember the name of it yet it was on the top of his tongue. They smelt familiar and recently used. Someone was in the townhouse with him.
- Azriel contemplated if he should leave now or stay a little longer. His shadows seemed to whisper to LOOK LOOK FOR HER and much against his good judgement he walked into the townhouse.
- The house was illuminated with the colours of Dusk, and the shadows of the furniture and garden seemed to warp and sway with the breeze that was outside. There were hardly any lights on, just the ones in the kitchen, the foyer and the lounge. The carpets had faded a little more since his last visit and the stained glass windows of the foyer glistened in an array of cool shades of blue, purple, pink and some shades of red and orange.
- Azriel smelt the air, it smelt of lavender and of her and a hint of something else. Someone else was with her here. He needed to depart quickly and without a sound but he had to see her. Elain on quite steps walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She walked with a tray of tea and baked goods and faced the back of the house where the large bay window looked onto her garden. Her back was turned to face him and she probably hadn’t noticed him yet so he stalked towards the mud room and-
- “I know you are there”, she turned to look over her shoulder and right into the corner of the foyer he hid himself in. “Your shadows are traitors to you”, she breathed, “they tell me when you’re near”. Azriel couldn’t breathe.
- In those months he hadn’t seen her he had forgotten how dazzling and beautiful she was. She had grown and settled into her fae body and her hair and skin seemed to glow with power. Elain was like a goddess walking amongst the living. Powerful and ethereal and to everyone’s surprise a little bit deadly. The way she was looking at him lacked some of the fondness she used to have for him.
-It’s what you deserve, a voice breathed down his neck. Azriel agreed but he did not think that voice was from inside his head. Azriel dared look up at the foyer ceiling and saw a pit of darkness. Bryaxis.
- “Don’t mind Bryaxis, Azriel. He is my friend” Elain said to him as she poured two cups of tea and laid out a small cake to the side of the table. “Please don’t fret and brood in the corner. I’d much prefer it if you could sit down for a chat if you were going to snoop around my residence.” Azriel broke his gaze from Bryaxis and walked his way towards Elain where she sat on a worn couch. “When did you move in here?” he asked as he sat down. “About a month ago, I told Feyre that I needed a space of my own and that she, Rhys and Nyx deserved to have their own space.” She spooned some sugar into her own tea and skipped out on Azriel’s, added a dash of milk to both cups and sprinkled cinnamon onto the top of Azriel’s tea. She remembered how he took his tea. She cared still even though she was hurt.
- “Why here?”, Azriel knew that he was asking the obvious but he’d do anything to keep her talking. Elain looked at him then, “it was the only open house and I felt guilty to ask Rhys to pay for a place of my own.” Of course, she would feel guilty to spend money after Feyre had done so much for her. “Plus, I get to work on my garden plans for this house. It’s closer to many of my clients that I work for. The commute is easier whether I’m walking or cycling. There are many benefits.”
- “You cycle?” he asked and smiled just a bit. “Yes”. Ah, he was only given practical answers now. No more causal and lingering conversation between them after her hurt her. It was understandable. “It’s easier than you think”, she quipped. A morsel she was giving him and he’d take it.
- “l think the wings would put me off balance.” He was being Frank, he’d rather fly anyway than fall over and bump into pedestrians.
-“You’ve got a point there”, Elain tapped the edge of the table. “Bryaxis, your teatime cake is ready.” From the foyer ceiling, darkness crawled along the walls, and pooled on the deep crimson carpet. Slowly, Bryaxis collected itself into a shadowy heap that stood tall. Its limbs were long and it had no facial features. Azriel couldn’t help but flinch as Bryaxis stalked toward where Elain and Azriel were sitting. No wonder Cassian was scared of that thing.
- Bryaxis bent down and blackness surrounded the small cake and slowly it’s shadows broke it down into pieces. Az was a tad horrified (perhaps morbidly curious)but Elain wasn’t bothered at all. She didn’t judge a soul, her heart was pure and good. Something he no longer deserved; he didn’t deserve it in the first place.
- The 3 of them sat in silence for a while, looking out of the bay window and onto the garden in progress. Elain had been working hard. New beds had been dug, paths had been ripped up and relocated, different species of crawling plants were beginning to grow along newly designed iron frames. A season past, Azriel mentioned to Elain that iron frames made by a blacksmith in the Rainbow could add to her garden. He was surprised that she remembered but that is Elain. She had a talent and a flare that she had the time to foster now. Without him. He knew that it was probably too late to apologize now but in his heart he hoped that it would do something to ease this tension between them.
- Bryaxis finished its plate and gracefully set it upon the tea tray Elain had on the table in front of him. Thank you the entity breathed and in a matter of seconds Bryaxis dissolved into thin air. Az didn’t know that was possible, but that question could be answered another day.
- Az cleared his throat, “Elain,” her gaze rested on him a moment before settling on one of the patterns on the wall paper behind him.
-“I’m sorry —“
-“For what exactly?,” she huffed at him. Her tone was colder than what he was used to from her but it was justified.
-“For hurting you. I did not intend to call you—“
-“You called me a mistake”, her eyes suddenly stared into his own. It was too much the sadness that he found there. “And you left me there with no explanation for months.” Her eyes began to gloss over.
-“I have been away on missions and in other courts.”
-“It was never an issue before. You always found time for me no matter your schedule. You disappeared…,” she paused her monologue for a deep breath. Most likely to steady herself. “Like— like a shadow.”
-Az didn’t know what to say so he repeated himself, “I did not intend to hurt you. I didn’t want to walk away.”
-“Impact matters more than intent. Your actions seemed clear to me. You rejected me and you feel guilty for hurting me. Why else would you be here?”
-To see you. To look at your beauty and fall on my knees. Anything from would suffice even your scorn. Azriel did not have the courage to say these things aloud. Too much blood and pain could come from his confession. He’d rather have her here than her in pain. He gave her a blank expression and she turned away.
-“I have to attend an appointment with a client now,” she said as she stood up to take the tea tray. Liar. She couldn’t bear to see him any longer. Coming here was a mistake and he might’ve made things worse.
- “Elain, let me help—“ Azriel pounced from his seat to meet her on her way to the kitchen.
-“Azriel,” she never used his full name. Ever. A single tear rolled down her cheek. “I think it’s time you should leave.” She was right and Azriel knew that he’d salted her wound.
- Giving her one last glance, he bowed his head and strode to the mud room. He fumbled to get his armour and boots. He didn’t bother to take his time to put it on, he just picked it up in a bundle and carried it out into the garden. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome. He couldn’t winnow inside the house but he decided that he could put on his attire in a corner of the garden that Elain couldn’t see before he flew into the skies. He needed a flight to cool his nerves and his body.
- As Azriel hastily put on his armour and placed his knives into their scabbards, a darkness emerged from the walls in the corner of the garden.
She still asks about you when visiting the High Lord, Shadowsinger. She is kinder than you deserve.
-“I know”, Az whispered, “she’s kinder than anyone I’ve ever known.” He didn’t need truthteller to confirm that, in the past he bore witness to her heart. And once upon a time wished that she would give her heart to him.
The Vanserra attempted to visit her twice during his stay. She made herself invisible so he’d go away.
- Az stopped. Nuala and Cerridwen had not reported Elain’s powers manifesting invisibility.
The shadow twins have hidden stuff away from you. They are loyal friends.
“Indeed,” Az could no longer entertain Bryaxis. He knew too much. Elain didn’t want him or anyone to know. He had access to information that she wanted private. He didn’t deserve to know even though as a spymaster he did. Azriel finished buckling the straps of his armour and prepared to take flight.
Goodbye, Shadowsinger.
Without a backward glance, Azriel shot into the sky. He was in for a long flight.
AND SCENE!
Thanks once again nonnie for sending me this prompt. It took me a couple days to finish and tbh I want it out of my drafts so I haven’t asked someone to check for spelling and grammar mistakes.
Have a lovely day🪩💕🫶